Funding the housing of Murderers & Rapists

[RamesesII]

I don't know how the justice system is set up in other parts of the world but here its innocent until proven guilty, and for those proven guilty suffice to say they end up where they belong behind bars.

Now for Catch 22, we humble citizens of Australia go about our days working to earn money to put a roof over our families heads and food on the table and to help the government to help our lives and the country run smoothly we pay a somewhat humble tax to help pay for Road upgrades, Safe environment, a good education for our kids, playgrounds and parks for our families and the housing, entertainment and even education of Rapists, Murderers and Pedophiles.....


Hmmm ok I don't speak for everyone but I aint happy with providing a free lifestyle for the scum of the nation so they can watch tv get an education, get a decent meal 3 times a day and whatever privileges and certainly not to have a good behavior bond to help them get a chance at getting out of jail.

Grrrr it aint no game of Monopoly where there is always that one player who is able to get out of everything because they have their hands in everyone's pocket for rent and then get a 'get out of jail' free card.

Why should my hard earned money go to housing these lowlifes and providing them a somewhat luxurious living.

Yeah now a lot of people out there fist pumping bring back death sentence or for those that have it already bring back the noose or firing squad, but isn't that lowering ourselves to their level. Besides which that is the easy way out for them.
I am all for letting them slowly rot in a darkened cell and let them slowly rot to death let them feel the pain let them break, forget the even exist, "ahhhhhh ohhhhhh but that is inhuman says all the soft c ocks out there"
But these aren't fully functioning humans we are talking about remember these are the sadistic, psychopathic f'd up bastards.

Ok fine at least bring back the chain line, get them to mines the Asbestos mines, let them work the dangerous unsafe mines or jobs of the worlds the jobs that inocent, loyal hardworking locals and villagers have no other choice but to do so the can bring a loaf of bread and a shank of lamb home for the week to feed their family, let them hurt I say let them live with real pain.

What are your thoughts, are there different circumstances in other parts of the world.

[smurphy]

I can feel your pain. In Ireland the main problem are not criminals per se, but a minority group which is made up of, well, mostly scum. We call them travellers\tinkers\knackers but in short they are a gypsy group. The drug trade in Ireland is controlled by them(and a lot of innocents have been caught up in the drug wars here, but war might be a strong word), they dont actually work, have jobs or look for jobs and they not only live off benefits, but cheat the system at every oppurtunity. And most criminals come from this group or eastern european minorities. And they arent above intimidating people over petty sh*t. And the Garda(cops) are either too scared\incompetent\both to do anything about it. But all in all I wouldnt say the situation here in regards to leniency towards criminals is too bad, bar this group. In fact I say treatment of criminals when the Garda do act is pretty harsh. A spell in Mountjoy prison is apparently bad enough to put most criminals off ever breaking the law again.

But you get situations like Australias all over the world. The one I find most frustrating but probably isnt the worst is the case of Abu Hamza in Britain. He is currently in jail for preaching hate(usual sh*t like introduction of sharia law by force, killing of british citizens by "martyrs" et al) and is basically griping against Britain. But this is where he is made to look like a moron and the British made to look foolish for humouring his whims. He is or was fighting being deported to Egypt. But surely he should be looking forward to leaving a place he apparently detests for an arabic country where he would be among his "brothers". As well as that while he is in prison the "evil" British government is paying over 1000 pounds benefit a week to him(well, his family) as well as giving him(well, again, his family) a rent free council house. I would just like to see his tone if he is deported or had his benefits cancelled. Frankly if I paid tax to the British government, I would demand it.

My opinion. The world is just f*cked up. Political correctness dictates that we give human rights and then some to people who deprived others of theirs. Again, f*cked up.

[nickness89]

I saw the name of this thread and just had to read it.

I agree on this, that our money should not be used to benefit criminals, rapists, murderers, drug lords etc. I also believe that they have just as much right to an education as us. If they don't have an education, they won't get jobs, and will be just as likely to offend if they were out of prison, I just believe that if they are to get an education, either THEY or the Government should pay for it. Equality for all, not just the people who don't break the law, because then equality isn't equality (see Lady Gaga equality and DADT speech rally).

[Unknown Entity]

If they don't get an education, they'll not get a job, and sit around stealing* benefits from your country anyway. Only one of those options gives them a second chance to redeem themselves and get them out of your wallet.

As for a luxurious lifestyle? I don't know if you can call jail quite that. I know over here that there's some prisons where the inmates can easily get hold of/smuggle drugs, weapons and prostitutes, but I'd say a greater luxury would be to be free without thinking about smuggling things in (not that I support any of the things listed regardless). You get a basic three meals every day and a bed to sleep in, and some classes. Bottom line is that you do get a room smaller than a cupboard, with a shitty bed, a toilet and a washbasin. If your cell mate gets the shits in the middle of the night, you're in the same room as them. Jus' sayin'.

I'm not sympathising with criminals, by the way. It's just a Catch 22; there's nothing you can really do. The government could leave them to starve in a cell, or they can kill them all. There's not really anywhere to put criminals. It's like mass radioactive waste - you can't just dump it anywhere, but it causes harm no matter what you do.

How about if you're innocent, or have unfair jail time? Prison isn't a luxury when everyone around you believes you did something to deserve being there. My friend's mother was in jail when she was pregnant - apparently she's assaulted someone in a store she'd not even heard of. I can imagine that being really scary. She was taken away from her home and kids at a time where she'd possibly (and actually did) give birth in a prison ward. She was considered one of those "good prisoners", and actually got extra classes and even had a Playstation put in her room. Still wasn't freedom though.

*They might not be stealing, but it's not like they've stopped getting money from you.

[nickness89]

The prisons over here (Scotland/UK) aren't that bad. I spent a night in the cells for supposed involvement in a bank robbery (I wasn't, the person on the CCTV was mistaken as me). There's PS3s, room to yourself, no trouble at all, very comfortable. This is actually ok with me, as just because someone has committed a crime (or is mistakenly so) still doesn't deserve to have their human rights breached. Not a single human is more valuable or "better" than another human, no matter the sickness of their soul and mind.

EDIT: But like I said, if they want the luxuries, they should have to pay for them with their own money, not have tax money supply them with these comforts.

[Aerif]

I believe that there are certain places in the United States (Arizona?) where running a prison is a profitable business. Using manual labour, like some of you suggested can mean that the prisoners manage to 'earn their keep' and grant the prison authority a tidy profit.

It's definetly an interesting alternative to using tax to fund the facilities to shelter criminals and those failings of the criminal system. But it seems more akin to slavery to me. I'm sure the prisoners will get some sort of 'pocket money' assuming that they remain well-behaved. But is it fair to force them to work? I guess it could be seen as a literal method of 'repaying your debt to society', but like people have already mentioned some 'criminals' are innocent victims.

Anyway, prison is about rehabillitation so that the prisoners can return to society. Forced labour isn't going to make them want to re-integrate, it's just going to make them resent people on the outside who aren't forced to work against their will.

Resentment + potentially unbalanced person = well, you know...

[nickness89]

Anyway, prison is about rehabillitation so that the prisoners can return to society. Forced labour isn't going to make them want to re-integrate, it's just going to make them resent people on the outside who aren't forced to work against their will.

Resentment + potentially unbalanced person = well, you know...

Exactly. Prison is a means of locking someone out of society for a set amount of time, so that they cannot be a harm to the outside world. The whole point of prison IMO, is so that the criminal will realise how much they hate being there, and wish never to return when they get out, therefore avoid crime.

That is the theory anyway, however there are still a high number of re-offenders. Weirdly though, when they have to earn their keep, they are less likely to offend, I read this statistic in an investigation into re-offending after leaving prison.

[Clint]

I fully support the funding and housing of murderers and rapists. Quite frankly, the government can't pay for it. It costs on average 300,000 dollars a year to house just one prisoner. In America, there are about two million people in prison, which means that an average of 600 billion dollars a year is spent to house these people. If the government were to fund that, it would cripple the economy.

I, as an American, have no right to complain about having to fund these people. After all, the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution does state that excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. It would be cruel and unusual punishment to work prisoners like dogs, or to lower their standard of living inside of the prison.

Just because they're criminals doesn't mean that they don't have Constitutional rights that need to be upheld.

[nickness89]

Just because they're criminals doesn't mean that they don't have Constitutional rights that need to be upheld.

Again, I agree. You hit the nail right on the head there. America is mostly pretty good with equality for everyone, and I'm pretty impressed at the USA for repealing DADT.